Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/240181
17 News maltatoday, SUNDAY, 12 JANUARY 2014 n examiners ns have ed idea of sin' most Paper B students had no idea that this referred to the act of sacrifice to redeem humanity. Some even put down silly answers like "The lamb is white and Jesus also used to wear white clothes" or "the lamb is a docile and calm creature like Jesus". When asked about the afterlife, many candidates described purgatory "as some kind of waiting area where they have an opportunity to repent from their sins and if not are sent straight to hell". The examiners' report fails to raise the question whether the teaching of religion in schools is missing the wood for the trees, by focusing on doctrinal, rather than basic ethical principles. In one of the few questions on social issues, the report notes that the understanding of the concept that work can strengthen solidarity among workers was very limited. "For many candidates solidarity only means charity and an ability to work with others." Most candidates mentioned vices like smoking, drinking and sex and bad content on the internet and TV as the greatest obstacles to living a Christian life. Only one question focused on the environment, with the report noting that very few candidates "referred to man as God's administrator of creation". Speaking to MaltaToday, a religion teacher at a government school expressed his disappointment with the content of the report, noting that the major shortcoming is not the replies of the students, but the questions which they are being asked. "Rather than focusing on the students' failure to grasp abstract theological distinctions, which are best understood by actually living the gospel, it should have focused on the absence of topics like migration, racism and social justice, themes which are constantly emphasised by the current Pope and by many priests working in the community, but not raised in the exam paper." According to the religion teacher, who refused to be named (as teachers of religion still need the approval of the Maltese Curia to be able to teach) students look at religion as an easy exam where they are only expected to tell examiners what they like to hear, with many doing this in an "infantile way". "The situation is completely different in class where some students not only openly question the relevance of the Church, but also express the most non-Christian sentiments on topics like migration," the teacher said. The teacher also proposed a change in the syllabus and a greater synergy with the new ethics subject, which will soon be thought to students who opt out of religion classes. "It would have been interesting to interrogate students on whether tax evasion, land speculation and racism are grave sins rather than asking students abstract questions on the distinction between venial and mortal sins." Despite the shortcomings in the answers given, a majority still managed to pass the exam. Only 2.4% of the 3,798 candidates sitting for this exam got a Grade 1, while 63% passed the exam. The report notes a great difference between candidates sitting for the more difficult Paper A and the easier Paper B. In fact, while only 11% of those sitting for Paper A failed the exam, 64% of the 1,587 students sitting for Paper B either got an insufficient Grade 6 or Grade 7 or failed. Many believed that venial sins were forgiven with blessed water or a simple prayer, something that prompted the examiners to ask: "are we losing the sense of sin?"